A 23-year-old shot dead by an Instagram friend she met 10 days ago

"A case of murder under IPC' section 302 has been registered...

Lucknow: A 23-year-old in Chinhat of a private university was allegedly shot dead on early Thursday by an acquaintance whom she met just ten days back on Instagram. The incident took place at a flat in Dayal Residency on Faizabad road in Chinhat area of Lucknow.

"A case of murder under IPC' section 302 has been registered at Chinhat police station and the prime suspect, Aditya Pathak, 26, has been arrested," said Syed Ali Abbas, additional deputy commissioner of police (east). Police said that the accused is a property dealer with criminal antecedents.

Recently he got bail in a case of extortion. The victim has been identified asNishtha Tripathi, a resident of Hardoi who was pursuing B Com (Honours) at the private varsity, said police.

According to the reports, the incident happened at a house party organised at the flat where several students were present. Police have also recovered liquor bottles from the house but have refuted claims of any party being held at the flat.

"It was a rented flat where Aditya, a resident of Ballia, used to live and had called Nishtha to meet. After some time, a possible altercation between them led to the accused attacking the victim with a country-made pistol," said Anindya Vikram Singh, ACP, Vibhuti Khand.

The pistol was possibly made in Munger," he added.

The officer said that around 3:30 a.m., Aditya's friend Monu heard a gunshot and rushed to find Nishtha in a pool of blood.

"The accused and his friend took the victim to the RMLIMS emergency ward where they provided the number of her parents who reside in Hardoi. When she was pronounced dead, they fled," a police officer said.

Police said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the victim had got in touch with the accused over Instagram barely ten days ago.

"The victim lived in a separate flat with her three friends in Gomtinagar while the accused was residing at Dayal Residency. On the fateful day, the student walked 3.5 km to reach the victim's flat before the unfortunate incident took place," an officer said.